Saturday, January 4, 2014

Ham Balls with Cherry Sauce

My husband and I were watching Top Chef the other night when the contestants had to make something that reminded them of home. Well there are a lot of recipes that remind me of home, but if I were good enough to be on Top Chef (which will never, ever happen), I would make ham balls with cherry sauce. It reminds me of home and all the flavors go together so well. My mom got this recipe from my Grandma and it's one of my favorite recipes from her. She's made it for me quite a few times to take back with me to college and more recently when I had Claire. It can take a little time so when you commit to making it, double the batch and freeze half.

1. I will give you the amounts for one batch of the recipe, so keep that in mind if you are doubling. I think it's actually easier to double because meat normally comes in the doubled amounts. You will need 1 lb ground smoked ham, 1/2 lb ground pork, 1 1/2c. bread crumbs, 1 well beaten egg, 1/2 t. dry mustard, 1/4c. brown sugar, and 1t. prepared mustard.

5. Spread over top of ham balls. Bake at 350F for 45 minutes. My doubled batch made 18 ham balls.

6. For the sauce you will need 1 can tart red cherries, 2T. cornstarch, and 1/2c. sugar. If you double the recipe, I would recommend tripling the sauce recipe. That is one of the best parts! I love to drench these in the cherry sauce and you certainly don't want to be left with 5 ham balls and a teaspoon of sauce!

7. Combine all sauce ingredients in a saucepan and cook over low heat stirring constantly until sauce is thick and clear. Serve over ham balls.